Reston was the first post-war community in the U.S. to use clustered townhouse development,[3] a strategy that allows for the preservation of open space along with higher density. Reston was also the first 20th-century private community in the U.S. to incorporate natural preservation in its planning (Greenbelt was a publicly supported community).[4]

An important part of Reston's development is its five village centers and one town center. Each village center, all of which (save North Point) predate the Reston Town Center, was designed to be a half-mile walk from most homes and incorporate the daily retail and community service needs of residents. Denser developments, such as apartments and clustered town homes are clustered around each village center. The first village center built was the critically acclaimed Lake Anne (see below), followed by (in chronological order) Hunters Woods, Tall Oaks, South Lakes, and North Point.[4]

Reston is served by the Reston Regional Library. The library contains over 215,000 volumes and houses an extensive collection on the history of Reston.[5]

Also located in Reston is the United States Geological Survey Library. This federal research library is open to the public. Today the United State Geological Survey Library's users have access to over 3 million items: over 1.7 million books and journals, 700,000 maps, 370,000 microforms, 270,000 pamphlets, 260,000 black-and-white photographs, 60,000 color transparencies, 15,000 field record notebooks, and 250 videocassettes. Materials include USGS publications as well as those produced by state and foreign geological surveys, scientific societies, museums, academic institutions, and government scientific agencies. The libraries in Reston, Virginia and Menlo Park, California, are designated as official depositories for selected U.S. Government publications. The libraries in Reston and Menlo Park have been designated as official Federal Government Depositories providing public access to selected U.S. Government publications.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.0 km²), of which, 17.1 square miles (44.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.21%) is water. Reston contains four artificial lakes: Lake Anne, Lake Audubon, Lake Newport, and Lake Thoreau. Another artificial lake, Lake Fairfax, is only partially on Reston property, but is technically Fairfax County park land.